Rome, Italy & Tokyo, Japan - April 20, 2011 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE:6701), a leading network, communications and IT company, and Enel Distribuzione, the Distribution System Operator of Enel SpA (Enel:MIL), announced the signing of an agreement launching a strategic partnership on the development of new technologies and solutions in the domain of Smart Grids.

NEC Corporation and Enel Distribuzione. Reached a strategic partnership agreement for the development of Smart Grids.NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. Enel operates a net installed capacity of 95,382 MW in 23 countries, serving 60.9 million customers.
Courtesy of Enel

Rome, Italy & Tokyo, Japan - April 20, 2011

NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE:6701), a leading network, communications and IT company, and Enel Distribuzione, the Distribution System Operator of Enel SpA (Enel:MIL), announced the signing of an agreement launching a strategic partnership on the development of new technologies and solutions in the domain of Smart Grids.

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.
Courtesy of NEC Online TV

Under the strategic partnership, Enel Distribuzione and NEC will undertake joint feasibility studies as well as deploying advanced, flexible and cost-effective solutions for smart grids, focusing in particular on energy storage.

Courtesy of NEC Online TV

The partnership will leverage on NEC‘s expertise in intelligent systems for energy collection and storage.

The two companies will launch a pilot project testing energy solution systems based on lithium ion batteries, developed by NEC and applied to the Enel distribution network.

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.
Courtesy of NEC Online TV

Within the framework of the agreement, the two companies will leverage their technological and operational assets to jointly evaluate a wide set of solutions for Smart Grid and Smart Cities.

These solutions will initially be analyzed and tested in Italy.

Nobuhiro Endo, President of NEC Corporation
Courtesy of NEC Online TV

"NEC aims to cultivate its smart grid business as a building block for its global energy business expansion, leveraging on core in-house competences developed over the past decades. We believe Enel Distribuzione‘s industry status and proven track record in the deployment of smart grid technologies is an important factor for our common success. Such technologies will also contribute to the construction of strong urban infrastructure that reliably stands up to earthquakes and other natural disasters." said Junji Yasui, Executive Vice President and Member of the Board, NEC.

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.
Courtesy of NEC Online TV

"With this strategic partnership, Enel aims to enhance its leading role in smart grid development and innovation. Through demonstration programs, we will concretely measure the capability of storage systems to increase the hosting capacity of dispersed generation and advanced functionalities to control voltage level" said Livio Gallo, Managing Director of the Infrastructures and Networks Division of Enel.

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.
Courtesy of NEC Online TV

The agreement was signed in the presence of a member of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

The Ministry, represented by Secretary of State for Economic Development On. Stefano Saglia, has recently been analysing potential collaboration areas between the Italian government and NEC Corporation.

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.
Courtesy of NEC Online TV

This is part of its creation of strategic partnerships with Italian companies in the area of smart grids.

The agreement also encompasses a range of additional areas and technologies related to smart city projects.

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.
Courtesy of NEC Online TV

This is a sector in which Enel is already an active player, working with various municipal authorities, serving as the ‘voice‘ for existing technologies and their energy efficiency capacity, by developing smart grid technologies, e-mobility and energy efficiency projects for end-users.

About Enel Distribuzione

Enel Distribuzione operates 85% of the Italian electricity distribution network and it is at the forefront in the development and roll-out of Smart Grid technologies and business, starting with Smart Meters and AMI infrastructure deployment back in 2001.

Enel Distribuzione's "Telegestore" is the unique AMM solution in operation worldwide over 32 million customers.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world.

By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers.

Courtesy of NEC Online TV

NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.

Significant growth of smart meters

First important step for the development of Smart Grids, integrating final users, smart energy consumption and widespread micro-generation systems

When attending the EU Sustainable Energy Week (April 11 to 15), EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said:
" When it comes to energy production and consumption, Europe needs more than ever to be on a sustainable path. It is time to invest in higher energy efficiencies and a wider use of renewable sources: this is the best way forward to ensuring safe and competitive energy for us and children. The smart grids and the use of smart meters are key for a better use of energy".

It is also an essential tool to achieve greater efficiency, which cannot be sought without the involvement of consumers who are informed and aware of the implications of their actions in terms of energy consumption.

This is why the new "Energy 2020" strategy, launched by the EU at the end of 2010, requires that in ten years at least 80% of European homes should be equipped with smart meters, 100% in 2022.

Europe is at the forefront in this field, also due to Enel’s role as a pioneer.

Likewise, the rest of the world is also full aware of the potential of this device, and its market is expected to grow rapidly already from this year.

The United States considers that the installation of more than 8 million smart meters (compared with more than 33 million in Italy) is a successful achievement, and it is planning to install 60 million more.

On the other hand, all industrialized countries are setting up smart metering infrastructure.

Nevertheless, for market evolution it is important that also emerging countries focus on smart meters.

Enel Green Power is world leader in this sector, with 20.7 TW/h Produced every year, covering the energy consumption of 7,8 families, avoiding 15 million tons of CO2 emissions every year. Installed capacity from wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric water flow and biomass energy sources is over 5.600 MW and there are 618 plants in operation around the world.
Courtesy of Enel

Not only the larger ones such as China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, but also developing countries like Pakistan.

In this country, smart meters are also seen as the best way to reduce electricity thefts and losses, which are widespread.

For this reason, Pakistan has launched a pilot project in three parts of the country, with excellent results.

It is estimated that the adoption of smart meters will reduce thefts by at least 60%, so that the local power company would save an estimated 30 billion Pakistani rupees (250 million euros) per year.

From 2004 to 2005 he was Executive Vice President of the Business Area Electric Network of Enel Distribuzione, the major Italian electric utility, which supplies and distributes electricity to over 31 million customers in Italy, operates electric lines covering over 1,100,000 km and more than 400,000 substations.

From 2002 to 2004, he was Executive Vice President of Regulated Sales Area of Enel Distribuzione, which sells energy to 30 million residential and business customers.

From 1999 to 2001, he was Executive Vice President of the Sales Area of Enel’s Gencos for the privatization of Enel’s 15,000 MW of generation power.

Before 1999, he was in Elsag Bailey Process Automation, a company of the Finmeccanica Group, as Area Vice President for Western Europe and Africa.